In this topic I would like to gather different approaches on how to live a content life, that can be perceived as fulfilled by the individual, and therefor keeps your mind healthy.
The question isn’t on how to be happy all the time, but what ways have each of you found to make your life feel well lived
This question especially arises to me as soon as the main necessities for surviving are fulfilled.

Lots of people today have regular feelings of depression and meaninglessness in their life. While neurochemical imbalances can as well be the cause, I would like to think a lot of it comes down to what you do with your life, and more so, how you perceive it.
The mainstream pathways that have been set by the capitalistic culture also seem to provide only temporary satisfaction and many people who try to get up the food chain through those ways cause mental and physical damage to them selves, mostly through excessive exposure to stress.

The possibilities to design your life are endless and almost everything seems possible. How ever there is no parameter to say, what is worth doing, and from a certain perspective everything can seem pretty much meaningless.
So how do you choose to spend your days and what goals do you aim for in life, to make it feel right for you at the end of the day?

Do you strive to work for a greater cause (nature preservation, system overthrow,…), that might live on?
Get a connection to nature as deep as possible?
Bath in endorphins as often as you can?
Some kind of spiritual development?
Take care of the survival of your genes?

Just some examples, that provide a frame to where I am aiming at, but invite to be overthrown…

Abundance. That feeling that you have everything you need. Abundance is a state of mind. It's a decision. All the problems of the world can weigh you down. It can always feel like you need more of something. Create a life of abundance. When hungry eat, when tired sleep. Be happy with what you have.

What has worked best for me is letting go of the need to control everything in my life. Letting go and allowing myself to just live my life.

As far as spiritual development I have incorporated many shamanistic practices into my life. The shaman's prayer is something that has become very important to me. I think of it all the time. It means so much to me because it is a reminder that the path I am on does not need to be controlled every second of every day.

I feel that every thought and action creates the world we live in. Using the power of words to create the thoughts that best serve me.

Below is the shaman's prayer for those that are unfamiliar with it or have interest. I take shamanism very lightly. I don't hold it up and say.... here is the way. It works for me. I am a spiritual warrior. This is my path.

The shaman's prayer
I am already given to the power that rules my fate
I cling to nothing, so I have nothing to defend
I have no thoughts, so I will see
I fear nothing, so I will remember myself
Detached and at ease, I will dart past the eagle
To be free

That is beautiful. I'm going to memorise that.

I have generally been useless for my friends in helping them through awkward stages, or at least I have believed I have. I had always been happy, and lucky. So when they had problems, and issues I had no way to relate to them.

My grandmother said "think lucky, and you will be lucky". She knew a thing or two.

A year ago, though, I realised I was depressed - it crept up on me and was so alien to how I saw myself. What I had lost was meaning. My wife told me I needed a goal - something to strive towards in order to eliminate the lack of meaning.

I disagreed as I could not think of anything I wanted, or could realitically achieve, but she was right - I was thinking I needed a goal that would make me happy when I got it. That was not the point I now realise.

Never think it is the goal that makes you happy (this mistake leaves many in anguish throughout their lives for not having that goal) - it is not.

The intent and striving is what makes you happy, and seeing all the beauty in that journey.

Choose a goal that is out of reach, or even a goal that potentially does not exist - aim high. Success may never happen, but whilst you exist neither does failure.

Choose a goal with meaning, meaning to you. Don't care if others don't share that meaning, don't pick it to impress your friends, or because society says that it should be your goal, or because morals say it is right, choose it for you.

Enjoy every step closer to it, and learn from every step back - a step back is just a chance to experience taking that step again.

I think this applies even to the small goals in life, like wanting some food: Enjoy the hunger and anticipation, enjoy choosing or finding what to eat, enjoy eating it, enjoy digestion. Satiation at the end is sort of a non-experience that does not bring happiness in itself except through the memory of the journey.

Don't get angry, others may try and stop you, others may be against your goal - that is their choice, and the obstacles they provide is colour and beauty to your journey; there is a lot to learn from them.

Don't be envious of those who seem further along, or seem to have achieved your goal, learn from them - they are there to show you where you will be and show you options of how you can choose your journey which will be different to theirs. Don't be put off if they seem unhappy, perhaps they just have no new goal or the goal did not have meaning to them. Don't compare yourself or judge yourself not worthy or incapable, (this is just another way of saying you have not achieved it yet, which you already knew).

Change your goal if you change. The journey will change you, and you may see possibilities of new goals as you gain wisdom, or the goal no longer has the same meaning - but think deeply, make sure you are not just giving up. Or take a break whilst you pursue a side-quest and come back to it.

But definitely do not follow your goal if it has now no meaning for you, many do this: One may strive to be rich, but once they are comfortable more money has no meaning yet they still strive for more, and more, not knowing that they need a new goal, the journey does not make them happy any more and the goal will not either but they don't change.

I keep saying to myself, that life is like a great movie, or great story - no great story is about someone who has everything and sits there just being happy, generally they are about a striving to overcome a problem - we love those stories, that's what makes us happy - the journey, the fight, the losses, and the return from adversity. Films usually have a negative dip where all seems to be going wrong and the hero seems to be losing, this is purely there to accentuate the success and make it so much more powerful so long as the hero still believes and keeps going. Even if the hero fails in the end, the story is still a thing of beauty and meaning. Depending on how reality works though, there may not be any ending to your existence, just different chapters.

Wow, not sure where that came from, I think I just wrote that for me. Hope its useful.

Great topic and words expressed thus far.

For me, there's no trying in being content. Contentment expresses itself naturally upon who and what you really are. Personally, anything rewarding such as helping others who cannot help themselves, meditation, listening to nature or music, playing music, riding a bike, reading, being in nature, connecting with animals, all these things, it can be anything! They help open the mind/body troubles in rendering content sensations. Sometimes even the most strikingly intensity of negative experiences can result in powerful content satisfaction.

Whether the activity is enjoyed or not, contentment is always present but not always perceived. Living simply and enjoying the subtle joys in life have a way of reflecting these subtleties for us to see them. Being distracted can replace contentment with sorrow, guilt, indifference, shame and frustration. Distractions can even come from goals, themselves. Even if they are planned to ultimately lead to some kind of contentment, how does one control contentment? You end up still struggling and miss to directly be content, here and now.

Contentment is like a belly full of laughter awaiting to be released. It won't be experienced until you initially observe what's already present and everlasting. If you strive to be content through works of action, you'll either be complete or in-complete in those actions, but you may just miss what was there all along.

We're all hardwired differently but we all deserve contentment.

I like going to the beach and staring at the waves and the sun, the sand and the birds, the wind blows, seagull crows, boat tows, people go walking by, I wave and say hi, clouds in the sky, good to be alive

I love it... I find some understanding of contentment and discontentment through recognizing awareness and its contents (what it contains) as distinct - awareness lasts and is relatively stable, compared to its contents which are fleeting and unstable. Identifying awareness with its contents can be experienced as separation, a sense of incompleteness and discontentment, whereas identifying that awareness is beyond all of its potential contents, contentment simply is, as pure (unconditioned) awareness is naturally whole, complete and indivisible.

I think it's natural to be discontent with the contents of awareness though, as it's all going through an evolution, a process of growth and learning... it's natural to be discontent when you see those suffering or see malevolence and corruption in your fellow man, to try and just be content with it may be practicing ignorance. I feel like the importance is being content with who you essentially are, remaining true to That, then the lies we're expected to swallow can't be stomached, you may even have to purge every now and then in your discontentment, get the Zen stick out and give a whack when you see lies being spread as truth, yet you're at peace with yourself as you're being true to yourself.

I like that you said there's no trying in being content, after all it's being content, not doing content. It's like asking 'how to be peaceful?', there's no way to do it really, it's moar subtle than that, beyond doing, beyond action, beyond effort, before you even lift a finger... peace is inherent so realizing it is a liberating process, not burdensome work. If peace was gained through doing something, it means it could also be lost, if it can be lost then it's never going to be true peace. Not to say that if something is temporary then it's not worth pursuing, just that true peace can't be dependent, it has to be unconditional... that's just my view on it anywho.

Everyone is different and everyone has to find their own way. Find your way. It's that simple.

the way to coming to terms with the truth

Smoalk a good amount of spice and appreciate life, it is the greatest fun one can be/have.

tseuq

How am I content? Creativity

It boils down to this... My pursuit of drawing, painting and all of it put me directly in touch with how my mind perceives reality at any given moment. When I draw or paint I get internal feedback on how my mind treats subconscious archetypal imagery and what shapes mean to my mind. In the action of creating I explore a world of my own. This feeds into my ego and longing to have dominion of my own world. Something we all miss in modern society. Our truly sovereign space in nature. I find ownership and ruling touch over the world of my creation each time I make art. It is my artwork to create and decide. If I believe in it's validity - then I truly have the power to feel I birthed a reality of my own. This fills my soul with such peace. It feels like my purpose.